Vaya con Dios
The Washington Post this morning featured a front page sob story on the cruel impact on the “vibrant Latino subculture” of Prince William County, Va.’s new crackdown on illegal immigration: In N.Va., a Latino Community Unravels (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/26/AR2008032603333.html).
A vibrant Latino subculture built in Prince William County over more than a decade is starting to come undone in a matter of months.
With Latinos fleeing the combined effects of the construction downturn, the mortgage crisis and new local laws aimed at catching illegal immigrants, Latino shops are on the brink of bankruptcy, church groups are hemorrhaging members, neighborhoods are dotted with for-sale signs, and once-busy strip malls have been transformed into ghost towns.
County officials who have campaigned for months to drive out illegal immigrants say they would be unhappy to see businesses suffer or legal immigrants forced out in the process.
“But I believe the benefits will far outweigh the drawbacks,” said Corey A. Stewart (R-At Large), chairman of the Board of County Supervisors and a leading advocate of the new policy allowing police to check the immigration status of people stopped for other violations. “And there will continue to be . . . a thriving Latino community in the county into the future.”
As a former home remodeling contractor, I’d like to see the WaPo do a story on the impact illegal immigration has on the blue collar trades. My partner and I were often underbid by a crew of Hispanics charging next to nothing to build a deck, install a fence, do drywall work, etc. One project we lost was bid about $200 above the cost of materials. The contractor evidently planned to pay his crew about $25/day to dig post holes and install a wood fence around the small backyard of a Haymarket, Va., town home.
I’ve talked to painters, drywall finishers and other tradesmen over the years who have moved onto other occupations because, unlike their competitors, they don’t live in rental properties with 25 other guys and can’t afford to work for a few dollars a day.
You might argue that those guys are just losing in a free market because they can’t compete. But really, if you’re competing against someone who doesn’t bother with a business license, contractor license, liability insurance, and all the other overhead that local government imposes on legitimate businesses, then we’re really not talking about fair market competition.
And, there’s also the issue of skill levels, quality of the craftsmanship, customer service and all that stuff that helps distinquish higher end contractors from Jose Blow who knows just enough to barely complete the job. We were underbid once on a paint job by a crew of illegals hired by the homeowner. We were brought back in at a later date to do some other work, and witnessed the bargain paint job. What a joke.
Year of calamities:
Later in the article, they talk to an illegal who’s had a bad year.
It was the latest blow in a year of calamities: In April, the interest rate on Mauricio’s ill-advised mortgage suddenly spiked, more than doubling his monthly payments. In May, he lost his job as a house painter. In June, he had to sell his van. In July, his third child was born, and with no insurance, he started skipping mortgage payments to cover the hospital bills. In October, the bank began foreclosure proceedings. In November, he sent his wife and two U.S.-born children to El Salvador.
December brought the worst setback yet: Mauricio bounced a $460 check he had sent the Department of Homeland Security to renew his temporary legal status, transforming him from legal to illegal immigrant.
In January, he received notice to vacate his house. Two weeks ago, the water was cut off. A week ago, his Virginia driver’s license expired, and without legal status, he can no longer renew it.
I sympathize with the guy, but jeez, how many other non-Hispanic folks can tell similar tales? I broke my heel back in September, was off work for about two months and racked up $20,000 in doctors/hospital bills. I don’t have health insurance. Because I wasn’t working, I wasn’t making any money and my mortgage, second mortgage, car payment, electric bill, phone bill, you name it, are all way behind.
In my neighborhood there are dozens of houses either in foreclosure or simply for sale. The “vibrant Latino community” is not the only one experiencing hardship lately. But somehow, I guess WaPo expects extra tears from the rest of us, because a bunch of people who shouldn’t be here anyway are having a hard time.
Boo fucking hoo.
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